Billy Hopwood
Encyclopedia
William "Billy" Hopwood is a fictional character
in the British ITV
soap opera
Emmerdale
and was played by David Crellin
. Billy is the biological father of half-brothers Andy Sugden
and Daz Eden
.
was fatally injured.
Billy wasn't mentioned again until late 2006, when Bob Hope
, married to Vic Windsor's widow Viv
, received a letter informing him Billy was up for parole. Kelly
happened to intercept the letter and was disgusted to discover that her father's killer was due for release. They decided to keep the news from Viv to avoid upsetting her as she was heavily pregnant.
The Sugden family were also shocked to learn Billy was up for parole and were devastated to learn that Billy was opposing Jack
and Diane Sugden
's application to adopt Daz. Billy claimed he didn't want to lose another son. Jack was skeptical about this, believing it was just a plot to get bail. When Victoria Sugden
was questioning Daz about his father, it was clear that he wasn’t as against him as the rest of the Sugdens.
With Billy trying to keep on the straight and narrow, he reluctantly worked a night shift on the rubbish collection
round in Hotten on 1 February 2007. He came across Victoria Sugden, who looked uncomfortable with the older person she was with. Billy managed to scare this person away and attempting to do the right thing, offered Victoria a lift home. Billy was unaware of the dangerous condition of the truck he was driving. Kelly Windsor had bribed Eli Dingle
, Billy's co-worker, to tamper with the brakes, making it potentially lethal. Whilst driving to the village, Billy was unable to operate the brakes to stop the truck and disastrously lost control, driving it into a lake. He soon realised Victoria was trapped in the passenger seat. He managed to free her after several minutes under the water, keeping her alive by breathing her oxygen.
Upon arrival of the paramedics, Jack Sugden was reluctant to thank Billy for risking his own life to save his daughter's but told Billy he didn't feel any differently about him than he had prior to the event.
After a while, when Val was at the casino with Katie Sugden
after Billy declined, and Diane went to the Woolpack after a blazing row with Jack over Victoria. Billy and Diane began arguing over Diane's involvement in Billy and Val's relationship. This resulted with Diane trying to push Billy out of the door but ended up pushing him into a wall. They make up which ended with Billy telling Diane he loved her and they kissed. Jack, meanwhile, was looking for Diane so he could apologise and found her at the Woolpack. While he apologised and asks her to come home, Billy and Diane held hands. Shortly afterwards, Diane let go of Billy's hand and left with Jack.
The next day Billy forced Diane to choose - him or Jack. She couldn't decide and left for Brighton the following day to stay with her daughter, Bernice. Billy stole a car from Debbie's garage and rushed to the station to catch her but got caught by the police before he got there.
On 3 October, Val visited Billy in prison and while she talked about Diane and Jack, Billy appeared jealous. The penny finally dropped for Val and she guessed Billy was Diane's mystery man.
The Sugdens' house went up in flames after Victoria doused the place in petrol, Billy rescued Andy and an unconscious Jack from the flames. After Jack was caught by the people below, Billy tried to leave himself but there was a second explosion which knocked Billy back into the house. Daz thought Billy was dead. As Jack was taken away in an ambulance, Diane said she thought she had lost him. Jack pulled his hand away from hers. As Daz looked at the house, paramedics pulled an unconscious Billy from the house. He was taken away on a stretcher as Daz begged him to wake up and not to die. Billy was in a coma on a life support machine in hospital. Daz kept a vigil at his bedside and when he heard a door bang, he thought Billy had woken up. As Daz fell back to sleep, Billy started to wake up. He told Daz he was ok and he was glad that Daz was alright. After revealing the truth to Daz about why the fire started, Billy discharged himself. Daz was upset about Billy discharging himself without saying goodbye and because he was ill.
At Christmas, Billy sent his sons presents which were not appreciated.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the British ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
and was played by David Crellin
David Crellin
David Crellin is an English actor.Crellin, who was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, is known for roles in Emmerdale as Billy Hopwood, BBC 2's BAFTA award-winning series The Cops as Alan Wakefield, and Coronation Street as gangster Jimmy Clayton...
. Billy is the biological father of half-brothers Andy Sugden
Andy Sugden
Andrew "Andy" Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale played by Kelvin Fletcher.-1996–2007:...
and Daz Eden
Daz Eden
Darren "Daz" Eden is a fictional character in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, portrayed by Luke Tittensor until April 2009. He made his first appearance in the show on 9 October 2003....
.
Storylines
Billy first appeared in the village in 1997 after he was released from prison to be with his son Andy. At that time, Andy was being fostered by the Sugdens but Andy chose to live with his real father. Billy was a criminal and spent most of his time trying to deceive the villagers of Emmerdale. This culminated with him attempting an armed robbery on the village Post Office on Christmas Day 1998 in which postmaster Vic WindsorVic Windsor
Victor "Vic" Windsor is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Alun Lewis for a period of five years, from 1993 until 1998. Vic was the second husband of shopkeeper, Viv Hope then Windsor, and also father of Kelly Windsor and Donna Windsor-Dingle...
was fatally injured.
During prison
Billy was sent to prison and Andy was adopted by the Sugden family. In 2003, Andy was surprised to find a twelve year old boy in his house, claiming to be his half-brother, Daz Eden. Daz told Andy they shared a father. Andy initially refused to have anything to do with Daz but eventually went to visit Billy in prison. Billy confirmed that Daz was his half-brother and he had told him where to find Andy. Over time, Andy grew fond of Daz.Billy wasn't mentioned again until late 2006, when Bob Hope
Bob Hope (Emmerdale)
Robert Reginald "Bob" Hope is a fictional character in the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by Tony Audenshaw.-Character's background:...
, married to Vic Windsor's widow Viv
Viv Hope
Vivienne "Viv" Hope was a fictional character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Emmerdale. Portrayed by Deena Payne, the character first appeared on 10 August 1993, and remained until 13 January 2011, becoming one of the longest serving characters, after nearly 18 years in the show.In November...
, received a letter informing him Billy was up for parole. Kelly
Kelly Windsor
Kelly Windsor is a fictional character from the British ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale, played by Adele Silva. The character first appeared on 10 August 1993. Silva portrayed her from August 1993 until November 2000. In February 2005 it was announced that Silva would be reprising her role and she...
happened to intercept the letter and was disgusted to discover that her father's killer was due for release. They decided to keep the news from Viv to avoid upsetting her as she was heavily pregnant.
The Sugden family were also shocked to learn Billy was up for parole and were devastated to learn that Billy was opposing Jack
Jack Sugden
John Jacob "Jack" Sugden is a fictional character in the British television soap opera Emmerdale. The character was originally played by Andrew Burt from 1972 to 1974 with a brief return in 1976, when he left for Italy to write a book. On his return in 1980 he was played by Clive Hornby...
and Diane Sugden
Diane Sugden
Diane Sugden is a fictional character on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale. She is portrayed by Elizabeth Estensen.-Backstory:...
's application to adopt Daz. Billy claimed he didn't want to lose another son. Jack was skeptical about this, believing it was just a plot to get bail. When Victoria Sugden
Victoria Sugden
Victoria Anne Sugden is a fictional character in the British soap opera Emmerdale originally played by Jessica Heywood, then Hannah Midgley and currently Isabel Hodgins.-1994–:...
was questioning Daz about his father, it was clear that he wasn’t as against him as the rest of the Sugdens.
After prison
Billy was released from prison and returned to Emmerdale on 25 January 2007, and immediately went to find his sons. Andy made it very clear he wanted nothing to do with Billy, yet Daz seemed unsure and later caught up with Billy alone, in an attempt to get to know him better.With Billy trying to keep on the straight and narrow, he reluctantly worked a night shift on the rubbish collection
Waste collector
A waste collector is a person employed by a public or private enterprise to collect and remove refuse and recyclables from residential, commercial, industrial or other collection site for further processing and disposal...
round in Hotten on 1 February 2007. He came across Victoria Sugden, who looked uncomfortable with the older person she was with. Billy managed to scare this person away and attempting to do the right thing, offered Victoria a lift home. Billy was unaware of the dangerous condition of the truck he was driving. Kelly Windsor had bribed Eli Dingle
Eli Dingle
Eli Dingle is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Emmerdale, played by Joseph Gilgun. He first appeared on screen in the episode which aired on 13 July 2006 and made his last appearance on 30 April 2010.-Casting:...
, Billy's co-worker, to tamper with the brakes, making it potentially lethal. Whilst driving to the village, Billy was unable to operate the brakes to stop the truck and disastrously lost control, driving it into a lake. He soon realised Victoria was trapped in the passenger seat. He managed to free her after several minutes under the water, keeping her alive by breathing her oxygen.
Upon arrival of the paramedics, Jack Sugden was reluctant to thank Billy for risking his own life to save his daughter's but told Billy he didn't feel any differently about him than he had prior to the event.
Val or Diane?
Some time later, Billy and Diane realised they had feelings for each other although they both decided nothing could happen between them. When Diane's sister Val Lambert made it clear that she fancied Billy, Diane set them up on a date which went well and ended with them sharing a kiss. When Diane found out they enjoyed their date she was obviously jealous.After a while, when Val was at the casino with Katie Sugden
Katie Sugden
Katherine "Katie" Sugden is a fictional character in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale, and is played by Sammy Winward. She originally appeared between 2001 and 2005 and returned in 2006 and has remained in the show since.-Casting:...
after Billy declined, and Diane went to the Woolpack after a blazing row with Jack over Victoria. Billy and Diane began arguing over Diane's involvement in Billy and Val's relationship. This resulted with Diane trying to push Billy out of the door but ended up pushing him into a wall. They make up which ended with Billy telling Diane he loved her and they kissed. Jack, meanwhile, was looking for Diane so he could apologise and found her at the Woolpack. While he apologised and asks her to come home, Billy and Diane held hands. Shortly afterwards, Diane let go of Billy's hand and left with Jack.
The next day Billy forced Diane to choose - him or Jack. She couldn't decide and left for Brighton the following day to stay with her daughter, Bernice. Billy stole a car from Debbie's garage and rushed to the station to catch her but got caught by the police before he got there.
On 3 October, Val visited Billy in prison and while she talked about Diane and Jack, Billy appeared jealous. The penny finally dropped for Val and she guessed Billy was Diane's mystery man.
Affair revealed?
On 12 October, after Billy was released from prison, he and Diane talked about their relationship, unaware Victoria was listening and knew about their relationship. Victoria later told Jack everything he needed to know about his wife's 'mystery man'. When Victoria angered Billy with her insults, he let slip Jack was responsible for her mum's death in the barn fire. Billy then got angry with Diane when she told him she was never in love with him but was attracted to the danger.The Sugdens' house went up in flames after Victoria doused the place in petrol, Billy rescued Andy and an unconscious Jack from the flames. After Jack was caught by the people below, Billy tried to leave himself but there was a second explosion which knocked Billy back into the house. Daz thought Billy was dead. As Jack was taken away in an ambulance, Diane said she thought she had lost him. Jack pulled his hand away from hers. As Daz looked at the house, paramedics pulled an unconscious Billy from the house. He was taken away on a stretcher as Daz begged him to wake up and not to die. Billy was in a coma on a life support machine in hospital. Daz kept a vigil at his bedside and when he heard a door bang, he thought Billy had woken up. As Daz fell back to sleep, Billy started to wake up. He told Daz he was ok and he was glad that Daz was alright. After revealing the truth to Daz about why the fire started, Billy discharged himself. Daz was upset about Billy discharging himself without saying goodbye and because he was ill.
At Christmas, Billy sent his sons presents which were not appreciated.